Word Stretch

Once a week the youngest students take part in a class called “Word Stretch” which gives the students an opportunity to write words. Each class begins with the students writing their names, the date and numbering their paper 1-6. As a group we brainstorm a topic such as colors, pets or sports. Each student thinks of one word that fits the category and one by one we “stretch” these words out listening carefully to each sound we hear. The students write the words as best they can, writing the letters that make the sounds they hear. After writing six words, the students illustrate two of the words while reading their words back to the teacher and adding any sounds they hear as they read it back. The object of this exercise is for each child to record as many sounds as they hear, to write the letters on the lines and to be able to read the words back when finished. We do not expect the words to be spelled correctly. Nor do we expect each child to hear all the same sounds.